The 2019 Southern Conference (SoCon) men's basketball tournament was the postseason event that determined the conference’s automatic qualifier for the 2019 NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament. The tournament featured the ten men's basketball programs of the Southern Conference and was conducted from March 8 to March 10, 2019.
Venue and format
All tournament games were held at the U.S. Cellular Center in Asheville, North Carolina. The competition used a single‑elimination format, with the top six seeds receiving byes into the quarterfinal round while seeds 7 through 10 played in the first round.
Seeding
Seeding was based on each team’s record in regular‑season conference play. The final regular‑season standings placed Wofford (12–6) as the No. 1 seed, followed by UNC Greensboro, East Tennessee State, and others.
Championship outcome
The No. 1 seed Wofford Terriers defeated the No. 3 seed UNC Greensboro Spartans, 71–61, in the championship game to claim the conference title. This victory secured Wofford’s automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
Individual honors
Fletcher Magee of Wofford was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) for his performance throughout the event.
Historical context
The 2019 tournament marked Wofford’s sixth Southern Conference men’s basketball championship. The victory continued the Terriers’ recent dominance within the league, having also captured the 2017 and 2018 titles.
References
- Southern Conference official athletic site (southernconference.org) – tournament bracket and results.
- NCAA archives – 2019 tournament automatic qualifiers.
- Contemporary news reports (e.g., The Asheville Citizen‑Times, March 2019) covering the championship game.
